That Land beyond
by Mysweetphantom
Summary: Erik kneels at the grave of his beloved,


The Opera Ghost was old.  
Oh so very old. Even more ancient Methusala.  
And tired, more exhausted than Atlas.  
At least thats what his heart told him, his broken, shattered heart.  
Indeed his heart was broken, it was failing him more and more each day, he could'nt even recall how many times in the past 20 years he had clutched his chest in agony. Too many of course.

The day was grey, and bitterly cold, a very suitable day for visiting the grave of the only person you ever loved.  
The vast grave yard looked virtually unchanged to that day so long ago when he had fought,  
fought for her.  
The only change that he could see, was an extra grave.  
Her grave.  
"Oh Christine"  
It had been two years, the longest years he had ever known in his painful life, since she had died, but it never changed.  
Being there, being in front of her tomb, always made his heart break all over again. He had never stopped watching over her, he had protected her and been her guardian long after she had left, but he couldnt protect her from her sickness, he couldnt fight off death.  
He kneeled down, gazing into the eyes of her image on her headstone, clutching the rose in his hand so tightly that the thorns cut his hand deeply, crimson drops fell onto the ground. He heard distant voices drawing closer, even after all these years he avoided people whenever possible.  
"I'd better hide until they pass,after all even in a graveyard ghosts aren't welcome." He placed the rose onto her grave, he paused, then put the ring with it, he was not really sure why, he just felt as though he should.

Raoul and his attendents approached the grave, placing some strange object before it.  
"Is the old goat still alive?" pondered the Opera Ghost.  
Apperently Raoul had the same thought as he looked down and saw the rose. He looked up around the graveyard, at first with a worried look, then, to the Opera Ghosts surprise, a smile. A very small one, but a smile none the less. Raoul sat back down in the wheel chair and said gruffly. "Come, let's go home. This place is freezing. Besides, I'm sure it's full of ghosts"  
And they slowly left, and the Ghost was alone again, he went back to her grave to see their strange offering. He gasped at seeing the old familair object.  
"It-it's my music box!" He said in surprise. He reached out and held it his hands trembling, "Will it still play"  
His shaking hand found the key and turned it. Softly, ever so soflty the tiny notes began to play, that was all he could take. Hearing that song broke him completely,  
he fell forward, crumbling before the stone, tears streaming down his twisted face. "Oh, Christine, I am so sorry, I am sorry for all of it, I never meant to cause you any pain! I never would want to harm you... not in a thousand years. I wish I could tell you that, oh how desperately I wish I could tell you that, but now... now I never will be able to, will I"  
He attempted to arise, only to fall again, harder. Pain racked his body, worse than ever before.  
"so now you are failing me completely?" He sad harshly to his body, then he relaxed, laughing sadly.  
"Well then, I'll just stay here for a while" He shivered and gently touched the tombtone, "My precious angel, are you singing before the King of heaven now? That must be wonderful for Him. But I suppose I shall never see that. I have been very wicked in my life, I've done far too many evil things, killed too many people, to ever be forgiven..." His eyes welled with tears, "And yet, I am sorry, Oh God, I am sorry for all of it"  
Once more pain attacked his heart even worse than before, He moaned in agony.  
"I suppose the man with the face of a demon will finally enter hell." he half joked to himself.  
He closed his eyes slowly, gazing at her picture with all the tenderness in the world,  
"I love you, bright angel"  
Snow gently fell on his dark form.

"Rise and shine! Oh come now, wake up"  
His eyes shot open but he had to close them again, the world no longer cold and grey, but warm as the last day of spring and as intensly bright as the sun. He slowly opened up his stinging eyes, and looked around in amazement. He was not in the graveyard at all, but in a vast feild of the strangest most beautiful flowers he had ever seen, some of them were even in colors he had never seen before. Far away there was a forest at the foot of imense craggy green mountains. In the air flowed a wave of elegant red birds. "What is this place?" He breathed in awe.  
"Everywhere..." a voice spoke, no sang! That was the only way to describe that voice, it sang like stars shine, with all the power of the ocean, yet the gentleness of a dove.  
He turned to see the creature who could have spoken with such perfection. There before him stood a woman of such intense beauty, that once again he had to look away for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to HER brightness. Words could not describe her elegance, her beauty would have driven any mortal insane if she did not have that joy flowing out of her. Yes, intense happiness flowed out of her body, so brilliant you could almost see it.  
He stepped back, almost afraid of such a creature.  
And she laughed, with the laughter of bells. "Hello!" she said, somehow getting even brighter.  
He was confused, this didnt make any sense, "It must be a dream, of course it must be a dream..." he mumbled to himself.  
"A dream?" the lovely creature repeated puzzled. "Oh! I see...you don't know do you"  
"Know what?" he said, a little angry.  
"And you don't recognize me at all?" she said looking at him with eyes that would make rocks melt with joy.  
He breathed in sharply, she was alittle too much for him to handle.  
"Of course I don't! I would remember meeting someone like you!" he half shouted.  
She tilted her head, " I suppose I do look different now... I have completely grown, and everyone looks different here..." she said to herself.  
"Who are you...and where are we?"He asked her.  
"You really dont know!" she said a smile playing around the corners of her lips.  
"No I don't and I would appreciate you not laughing at m-" she placed her hand on his mouth, "All right, all right! I will explain everything." She smiled dazzlingly, then she released his mouth and grabbed his hand,"But lets walk while we talk, I love it here"  
He blushed deeply beneath the mask. Why was this strange girl being so familiar with him?...but he didnt remove his hand.  
They walked along through the field, "It's so strange here... It feels so...so right!" He breathed in deeply. "It really is a shame that it's just a dream..." he faded off sadly. The lovely girl reached down and grabbed a red flower, it looked very much like a rose, but it's redness was deeper and brighter than any ruby. She handed it to him, he tenatively touched the petals, they felt like the finest silk. More importantly, it felt REAL.  
"It looks like a rose doesnt it?" she said mirroring his thoughts, She looked away, off towards the mountains, "Some one...very dear to me allways gave me a red rose"  
He stopped walking. "Some one dear to you?" his heart froze, but then he shook it off. Lot's of people gave roses to people they loved, it wasn't unusual at all.  
"Yes...the only man I ever loved"  
Well that pushed all stupid thoughts out of his mind, after all, his only love, only loved another.  
"How nice for you." He said coldly. " I suppose you married him and now live a happy life full of roses"  
She looked at him, her eyes so intense, they were like moonfire. "No...I have allways been a very foolish woman, and only discovered my love after it was too late." She swallowed, and blinked quickly. "You see I was very young when I was married, and I didnt fully understand what love was." "Young?" Erik thought deeply perplexed " She doesnt look older then twenty"  
"I thought love was just a feeling, and being wanted..." she continued "I thought love was someone who said I was beautiful, I was so selfish then. I was talented, I married a handsome rich young man. The world was mine! I had everything I ever wanted. For a while at least...but everyday I thought of him more...my first love. No! My only love, my real love! He had known what real love was, he had cared for me more deeply and truely than any other man had ever loved a woman, but he knew that my foolish heart had wanted another, so he let me go"  
He was having a hard time breathing, this story was hitting a little too close to home.  
" You see? You see that that is what true love is? To give up everything for someone else, even your own happiness! He did that for me...for me. And what did I do? I abandoned him when he needed me the most. I was a very wicked woman. I see that now, but I didnt realize for years what love meant, and what I had lost. But it was too late, not only was I married, but I found out that he had apparently died. What had I done...what could I do?" Erik listened in amazement. Letting this all sink in slowly. " I was married for a really long time, until two years ago. I became very sick, and...I did not want to get better. I suppose you think that is very cowardly of me, but it was never the less how I felt. And my husband understood. At the end he really understood, when I was on my deathbed, he took my hand and said. 'It's all right my dear. After all, it is only "till death do us part" go and be with the one your heart belongs with.' And then, I died"  
He looked at her fully, for the first time he really looked at her. "You-you died"  
"Yes, I died! And now... now I live"  
"Then this place really is...it really is"  
"Yes Erik it really is heaven"  
"Then you really are"  
"Yes! Yes Erik! It is really me"  
"Christine!" Erik screamed with all the joy in the universe. "But you arent sick, or"  
"Old?" Christine laughed, her joy mounting and matching his. "No I'm not, no one is sick or old here, everyone is perfectly beautiful here"  
Erik was shaking, he wanted to believe it, but his hands werent making it to his mask, He wanted to tear it off, but he was scared, so scared to hope. Then Christine reached out and removed it, flinging far away. She grabbed his hand once more and placed it on his face, a face of perfection of a beauty that finally matched his brillaint mind and beautiful soul.  
"Yes Erik, yes it's all real, it's all true," tears of light streaming down her face and his,"But even if you kept your mortal coil, I would allways love you"  
And they kissed, a kiss more wonderful and full of truer love than anything the universe had ever known. And they happily lived eternally ever after.  
In that land beyond. 


End file.
